A baseball tale for Tiger Miguel Cabrera:
It wasn’t exactly the information age but then no one complained. Business ran on the Bell System and US postage, while newspapers, Western Union®, radio & TV kept consumers connected.
And though barely a blip on most people’s radar, a certain sports item was making headlines in the Big Apple that spring of 1961: Maris & Mantle and their pu...

There were times in NFL 2012 when all of these guys were nothing short of sublime.
Playing, not like the “R..O..O..K..I..E” imprint on their shiny, new, laminated Ass’n cards, but as if seasoned veterans who’d mastered the game, peerless in pursuit of wins and even having their names dropped into MVP talk on more than one Monday morning.
Then, as it almost always does in professional fo...

Fifty years from now, what will people remember about Biogenesis?
I’ll tell ya’ what they won’t remember:
Tony Bosch, its founder, and the un-paid employee Porter Fischer who clued us all in;
Most of the culprits who made the list of shame (17), and;
Those nameless investigators (fed / mlb) who brought it all to fruition.
What they will remember:
Its two prize catches, Ryan Braun, Alex Ro...

Who’d a’ thunk? Johnny Manziel, that ne’er-do-well, pigskin passing, party-animal, all of a sudden being held-up as the face of fiscal fairness in college sport?
Kinda’ crazy…and about as likely to fly with fans & college cufflinks as Riley Cooper’s statement that he’s “not the type of person” to use a racial slur. Good to be hopeful.
But that’s just what many mainstream...

Johnny Football’s gotta’ go. The name, that is, and it’s about time.
The eligibility thing? NCAA will settle that question.
You’ve gotta’ earn a handle like “Johnny Football,” and frankly, John Manziel just can’t pull it off. As for the media fixation, what are ya’ gonna’ do?
Johnny’s a few accolades and at least 12 fluid ounces of good-judgment short of carrying off such ...

‘A walk’s as good as a hit.’ That’s a baseball truism.
Some others:
‘Never intentionally put the winning run on base late;
Never slide head-first into 1st…or any base, for that matter;
Match-ups: go lefty (bat) v. righty (pitch) and vice versa;
American League is fastball – slider, National, fastball – change-up, or is that reversed?;
Never, ever, let a dog carry your ba...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a great city on the shores of the Great Lake, Michigan.
It’s as cultured & diverse a metropolis as its “big shouldered” neighbor to the south (Chicago) but is best known, like most cities are, by its clichés: beer (MillerCoors®), blue-collar biz (Harley-Davidson®, Briggs & Stratton® and SC Johnson (Wax)®), baseball (Brewers®) and bratwurst (Usingers® &...

Ask “Ray Babbitt” about the state of baseball and you might hear something like this: ‘Definitely, definitely not your father’s baseball…definitely not……definitely not.’
“Rain Man” would know, being an original saberhead and a big, BIG Redlegs’ fan.
Much has changed since, say, Jackie, Branch & Larry blazed a brighter path in late 40s.
For starters, there are the notab...

Still scratching your head trying to figure out how Dwight Howard thinks he’s gonna’ win a ring in Houston?
Don’t bother. There’s nothing to figure out.
Dwight’s not in Space City to win titles.
Not that it wouldn’t make him a happy-camper. Who doesn’t want a ring? But it’s not his priority, it‘s not his sole purpose for being. And anyone who tells ya’ different, well, looki...

One Commissioner (Roger Goodell), one owner (Dan Snyder), one former gridiron great (Joe Theismann) and one current, very popular player (Robert Griffin), all taking a stand in defense of an Indian moniker does not a PR-victory make, but it’s starting to feel that way.
The narrative is changing.
No longer fixated on charges by some that the Washington Redskins nickname is racist & disresp...

Hail the victors, hail the Miami Heat who captured their second NBA title in as many years Thursday night by outlasting formidable Finals foe San Antonio Spurs in G7 (95-88) to take the best-of-seven series (4-3) and close out one memorable 2013 post-season.
They’ll be talking about this one for years.
And to the victor go the spoils, including the hardware, endorsements and any other booty t...

We spend a lot of time these days defining greatness.
The litmus tests, those certified by the Bureau of Sporting Weights & Measures, within the Department of Tumultuous Merriments, are as follows: 1) championship hardware; 2) personal accolades (MVPs), and 3) stacks & stacks o’ stats.
That’s the public arena.
Privately, for some, anyway, greatness is measured with a different set o...